This Is How It Feels When You're Bent & Broken
by ExactChase
Summary: After being injured during a mission, Ruby is sent to the hospital. Believing that she is mostly fine, she is sent home, beginning a viscous cycle of her being in and out of the hospital.
1. In

A stretcher bolted down a long, white hallway, crowded with doctors and nurses, trying to save the life of the patient laid before them. Trailing behind them were three of the patient's friends; A blonde girl, a faunas girl, and a Schnee. She was a huntress, impaled by a Nevermore feather, (which was still protruding from her stomach) on her latest mission. Her file said huntress, but in person she was definitely too young to be an actual huntress, they all knew that she went to Beacon, as she had been brought in by a rescue team from The Academy. "She seems to be having trouble breathing!" One nurse said. She dashed off, returning with a Big Valve Mask (the manual oxygen masks) and began to pump oxygen to the girl.

"Wha's goin' on?" She groggily asked.

"Relax, sweetie." One of the nurses told her.

The girl began to thrash around on the stretcher, "Restrain her!" One doctor ordered. The nurses complied without a second's hesitation, grabbing her arms, legs, and head, holding her in place as she struggled under their grasp. "We're gonna have to sedate her!" Another doctor said, as they now entered the O.R, leaving the patient's friends behind.

A/N: I know this is short, but it's really just a preview of the story, which will just be Ruby recovering. AKA, fluff. I don't usually do fluff, but eh!


	2. The Hospital

Yang paced around the waiting room, which was filled with empty chairs, except for Team WBY, who sat near the double doors their leader had gone through.

"She'll be fine, Yang." Blake tried to comfort her distraught partner.

"I know…" Yang said, "It's— it's just—"

"What is it, Yang?" Blake asked.

"There was just so much blood. What if she doesn't make it?"

"Then we can say that we did everything we could to save her." Blake stood, putting her hand on the blonde's shoulder. "You're right." Yang said, pulling her friend into a hug. "You're right."

After what felt like an eternity, the doctor came through the doors, prompting WBY to leap up from their seats, "Is she okay?" Yang asked.

"She's fine." He told her.

"Can we see her?"

"Unfortunately, no." Before Yang's semblance could flare up, he explained himself, "She needs her rest. Most people don't survive something like this. She's very lucky to be alive."

"Okay, we understand," Weiss said, leading her teammates out before Yang could kill the doctor.

The next day, after hearing of their friend's incident from WBY the previous night, JNPR made the collective decision to visit Ruby, seeing as there were no classes that day.

When they arrived, they found that WBY was already there, sitting around the room, each of them in deep thought. Jaune lightly tapped on the door as he walked in, gaining the three's attention. "Hey," he said, sounding emotionless, as he walked into the white and beige room, which had another room adjoined to it, which was rather large for a hospital room, and looked more like a hotel suite. (This is a real thing my Mom got, and you don't have to be rich!) He noted that Ruby was still unconscious. The girl was comfortably covered in white sheets, which went up to her chest, revealing a bit of the very light blue hospital gown she wore. Her face was mostly covered by an oxygen mask, which was connected to a rather large tin canister full of air. Running from her left hand was an IV, and on the opposite, the clamp for the heart rate monitor.

"How's she doing?" Pyrrha asked when she came in.

"She's been worse." Yang said, earning stares of disbelief from the monochrome members of RWBY. "But we don't talk about those times, so I'll just say she's lucky to be alive."

"Did they say when she'd wake up?" Jaune asked, sitting down on the opposite side of the bed from WBY.

"They said it might be a while," Yang said, looking down at the ground. "But she'll pull through. She's too strong."

After two weeks, Ruby still hadn't woken up, even after her heart stopped a few times. It scared Yang. She hadn't left Ruby's room for quite a while, and she didn't have to. Ruby had gotten a room with another room for guests adjoined to it. (Again, real thing) And Weiss and Blake were fine with getting their teammate food from the cafeteria. Jaune visited a lot, too. Ruby was his best friend, after all. And after two weeks, she regained consciousness.

"Yang?" Ruby asked hoarsely, struggling to sit up. Yang rushed over and helped her sister up, making sure she had something to support herself with. "Why are your eyes so red?" Ruby asked, looking as curious as she could with a mask on.

'Of course that's the first thing she'd ask. Of all things. She couldn't have asked how long she was out!' Yang thought, 'The answer is obvious.'

Yang looked down at the floor. "We thought you were going to die." She said, looking back up. "Your heart stopped. I was so worried."

"Do this… Nevermore!" Weiss said from the doorway, having returned from the cafeteria with Blake. "God dammit, Schnee!" Yang almost screamed, her eyes blood red, and her hair looking like my future. Bright. "Time and place! Hospital is not the right place! If you make another pun centered around my sister almost dying, I will personally disembowel you! I don't care what family you're from!"

A/N) It might be short, but I'm probably gonna play Fallout, and I've delayed this chapter too much!


	3. The Cycle Begins

A/N: And we're back with this dark/fluffy fic. It's been a while, and I've been pretty busy with The General's Side Check that out. LLET'S WRITE

Yang and Blake helped their leader walk back to their dorm, Ruby had been recently released from the hospital, but was nearly incapable of walking. She wasn't paralyzed or anything like that, but her legs were too weak to support her weight. Trailing behind the three was Weiss, and JNPR, who watched as Ruby futilely moved her legs, trying to walk with her sister and friend supporting her. This sight broke her friends' hearts. Just before they reached their destination, Weiss ran ahead and opened the door, holding it open for her teammates.

"Where are we going?" Blake asked Yang, curious as to where they were going to put Ruby down. "Bathroom." Ruby answered, looking a little pale. "Please hurry. I'm gonna puke." The two rushed their leader into the bathroom, kneeling her in front of the toilet, where she began to produce nothing but bile. This was nothing new to them, as every time the hospital tried to feed her, it came back up. Regardless of this, the doctor cleared Ruby for discharge.

Yang laid back against the sink cabinet, rubbing her sister's back as she retched, her body desperately trying to cleanse itself of something that was causing her harm. Yang felt a pang in her chest for her sister, the poor girl was not only hurt beyond the point of walking, but also in a tremendous amount of pain from her body's false alarm. After a few minutes, Ruby stopped puking and crossed her arms against the toilet seat, resting her head on top of the support she had created with her arms. She obviously didn't feel very well if the pained sobs were anything to go by. Yang stood, she didn't really want to leave her sister in that much pain, but she also knew she needed to do something about it. "I'm gonna go pick up her pain medication." Yang told her teammates. "Look after her while I'm gone." The two nodded and Blake stood from her seat on her bed. The faunas walked into the bathroom, kneeled down beside her friend, and brought as much kindness into her voice as she could muster, "You want to move in there, or stay here?" She asked, genuinely worried for Ruby. "I'll just stay here…" The younger girl quietly said, sounding like she was in pain.

Blake stood. "Okay." She said, "Weiss and I'll be in the other room if you need us." Before Blake even made it out the door, she could hear Ruby's retching. She felt bad for the girl, but knew that there wasn't much she could do. Yang would be back soon with her pain medication and that would help tremendously. When Blake sat back down on her bed, she could see Ruby if she rested her back against the headboard. Knowing that Ruby could reach her if she needed her, Blake went back to reading her book, looking up whenever Ruby began vomiting again.

About ten minutes later, there was a knock at the door. Weiss answered it, confused as to who it was. Standing in the hallway was a large blonde man with a sole patch. He wore a yellow short sleeved dress shirt, a brown vest, a single shoulder guard that was just above a black tattoo that looked like a symbol of some sort. Below that, wrapped around his right hand were several strips of leather. On his other arm, a handkerchief was tied around his bicep. He wore orange cargo shorts that clashed with everything else about him. "Team RWBY?" He asked, kindly smiling. "That's us." Weiss told him. "And you are?" This question caught the man off guard, and he laughed, realizing his blunder. "Taiyang Xiao Long." He told her. "I'm Ruby's father."

Weiss looked at him suspiciously, "How do I know that's true?" The man's face went from a broad smile to; "Really?" Before he could say anything, an excited, high-pitched barking erupted from the room, and the black and white corgi rushed to the blonde man, leaping into his arms. "That enough proof?" He asked, now smiling. Weiss opened the door wide enough for him to get in, closing it behind him. Taiyang set Zwei down and turned back to Weiss, "Where is she?" He politely asked. The heiress pointed in the direction of the bathroom door. Taiyang began to walk towards the bathroom door, able to hear his youngest daughter's retching.

"Hey, sweetie." He called out once he reached the doorway. Ruby immediately recognized his voice, "Hey,—" she was cut off by yet another retch. He sat down beside her, his back against the sink cabinet just like Yang had been before she left. "How ya feeling?" He asked.

"I feel like I'm dying." Ruby told him, her voice muffled by her arms. She was done puking, and was now resting her head on her arms, facing the wall. "You know what your mother would have said?" Taiyang asked her, peaking her curiosity. She turned towards him. He rarely ever mentioned Summer, why now? He smiled, "She would have said: "Just don't do that'." He told her. "Summer always thought sickness was a mentality. That's why she never got sick. Hell, she didn't even get morning sickness when she was pregnant with you." He chuckled. "You'll pull through. I'm sure of it."

Overhearing this conversation made Weiss wonder why Ruby's mother didn't come with Taiyang to see their injured daughter, and made Blake feel guilty for knowing why.

Taiyang idly stroked the corgi, who laid in between him and Ruby. "Zwei was your mother's dog. That's why he likes you so much. You look just like her." He said, his voice showing very little emotion. "Well, that and dogs are very good judges of character, and I know for a fact you don't have a single mean bone in your body. You were so well behaved growing up," his voice began to crack. "I was so worried when I heard about what happened. Forced me to relive some memories I've tried so hard to repress; memories of your mother. Summer died so someone else could live. I always worried that if I told you what happened, you'd turn out the same. Guess some things are genetic…" He chuckled again. "You didn't have to do what you did."

"Yes I did." Ruby hoarsely, and bluntly told him. "You could have died." He said, devout of emotion.

"At least it would have been for a good cause. Those feathers were headed straight for Jaune." She said.

"You have a speed semblance." He bluntly added. "You could have moved him out of the way, made a sandwich, eaten it, then the feather would have hit the ground."

"He was standing in front of a lot of people. If I had just moved him, someone else would have died. I tried to put a bunch of cars in the way, but I wasn't fast enough in my getaway."

"You could have died." He said again. He sounded upset with her, but also a little proud.

"But I didn't." She told him, resting against the wall in front of the toilet. Taiyang opened his mouth to speak, but was silenced by the sound of the door opening and closing, followed by the sound of a single grocery bag. "I'll be back." He told Ruby, standing as she threw herself to the toilet, trying to vomit again.

"Dad," Yang said, sounding surprised. "When did you get here?" Taiyang stretched his back, not as limber as he once was. "Just a few minutes ago." He grunted, pops echoing through the room.

"How is she?" The blonde asked. "Any better?"

"If she was throwing up bile when you left, then she's not any better or any worse."

"That's not true," Ruby weakly shouted from the bathroom. "I wasn't throwing up blood when she left. I am now." Yang and her father shared a worried look, and both rushed to the bathroom, Yang kneeling down beside Ruby, and Taiyang standing behind her. The younger blonde looked into the toilet, confirming that Ruby had been, in fact vomiting blood. She looked back to her father, "Should we take her back to the emergency room?" She asked.

"I think so…" Taiyang said.

"I…" Ruby began. "I feel really lightheaded…" the younger girl blew out a winded breath, seemingly feeling worse. "Lay down." Taiyang ordered. Ruby didn't question what her father told her and laid down, Yang helping ease her to the floor. "She's going to pass out." The two's father said, explaining himself. "I don't want her to hit her head on something and worsen her condition."

"Should we take her to the emergency room?" Yang asked again, standing on her knees. "No." Taiyang told her. "We're going to call an ambulance, and they will take her to the emergency room."

Blake and Weiss had stopped listening to the two's conversation when Yang came in, this was because Yang had already taught them not to eavesdrop on her conversations and they'd rather her not have to do it again. Blake's attention was pulled back to the three when she heard Yang ask if they should take her to the ER. The faunas set down her book and made her way to the bathroom door, when she looked in, she saw Ruby laying on the floor, looking miserable, and her family members standing over her. "Do you want me to call an ambulance?" She asked, having heard what Taiyang said about calling EMS. Yang nodded, pushing away the stray hairs that fell in front of her eyes.

Blake quickly pulled out her scroll and dialed 911, she almost immediately got an answer, "Nine-one-one, what's your emergency?" The woman on the other end asked.

"Um," Blake began to stutter, unsure of where to start. "Last week, my friend was impaled by a Nevermore feather, and we took her to the hospital for it. Today they discharged her, but she's throwing up blood, and feeling light-headed."

"Okay. What's your location, ma'am?" The operator asked.

"Beacon Academy. Dorm 636." Blake told her, prying away the hair that separated her scroll from her human ear.

"Okay… I'm dispatching an ambulance to your location." The woman calmly told her.

Blake sighed in relief. "Thank you…" She breathed out.

"Just doing my job. Please stay on the phone with me so I can be notified if your friend's condition worsens." The woman told her.

"Okay." Blake said, sounding more like "Un-kay"

"What'd they say?" Yang asked, Ruby's head now resting on her lap. "She said an ambulance is on its way." Blake told her blonde partner. Yang sighed in relief, just like Blake had moments ago, leaned back against the sink, and closed her eyes.


	4. EMS

JNPR had decided to leave RWBY alone, since Ruby wasn't feeling very well and needed her rest. But when they heard the sirens, they froze. They had never heard sirens on campus. They still knew that the school had security and its own EMS team, but had yet to see it put to use. The sirens soon stopped, leaving flashing lights shining in the window. The four soon heard something being wheeled down the hallways towards them. As much as they wanted to check on what was happening, they knew the school was very strict on staying where you were if EMS entered your dorm building.

JNPR heard a knock on their door, and man's voice shout, "E.M.S!" Pyrrha opened the door a crack. "Can I help you?" She kindly asked.

"Is this six-three-six?" He asked. Pyrrha could see the gurney behind him, being pushed by his partner. Pyrrha shook her head. "No." She pointed to RWBY's dorm. "That is."

"Thank you." He said. The man turned around and knocked on RWBY's dorm, Pyrrha watching him with the door wide open. Weiss opened the door and let them wheel the gurney in. They emerged several moments later with Ruby atop of it and rushed her down the hallway, a blonde man in tow. The blonde man looked like he was in his late to mid thirties to early forties. Yang dashed out several seconds later, motorcycle helmet in hand.

[Ruby]

For Ruby, everything was dark, and she felt like her body was vibrating. She felt like someone was running a power tool on her face, kinda like the dentist. (This is legitimately what passing out and beginning to convulse feels like, BTW. I woke up and thought I was at the dentist)

Ruby opened her eyes and saw that she was now in the back of an ambulance. She couldn't seem to remember how she got there. The last thing she remembered was lying on the bathroom floor after throwing up blood. She could see her father sitting on a bench near the door, the city of Vale was moving behind the windows. How did she get in Vale? She remembered being at Beacon. Someone suddenly shined a light in her face, Ruby tried to move her eyes away from the blinding light, but found that her head was strapped to the bed. She went to move her hands to investigate, but found they were bound as well.

"I think we can remove the restraints now," An unfamiliar voice said, releasing the pressure on her limbs and head. "Is she awake?" Ruby could hear her father speak, it was evident that he was beyond worried for her. "Yes." The first voice said. "She's awake."

Just as he said this, the ambulance went up a hill, and Ruby saw Yang behind them on Bumbleby. She felt comfort in seeing Yang and her father watching over her: Nothing bad was about to happen to her.

"How're you feeling, Rubes?" Taiyang asked, grabbing her foot.

"I think I'm gonna throw up." Ruby said. Rolling onto her side, she began to retch and gag, drops of saliva falling from her mouth. The paramedic didn't hesitate in giving Ruby a bag for her to throw up in.

"Hey!" The paramedic in the back shouted to the driver. "We need to hurry up!"

Yang jumped as the ambulance suddenly turned its lights on and began to speed up. Ruby's condition had worsened since they brought her in. The emergency vehicle had been obeying all traffic laws, stopping at red lights and all that. It brought Yang comfort in knowing that Ruby didn't need to be at a hospital ASAP. But now that they had turned on the sirens, she began to worry. Yang found herself beginning to hyperventilate, just as she had when they took Ruby to the hospital for the first time. Tears began to roll down her face, she couldn't help it; Ruby was her little sister, and she could be dying. Yang felt like Ruby's mother at times, after all, she was the only female in Ruby's life, so she had to be somewhat of a mother whether she wanted it or not. Ruby would take after her, take her example. If anything happened to her father in a few months, Yang would become Ruby's legal guardian. Not Qrow. Qrow wasn't legally Ruby's uncle, not that the redhead knew this. The only way Qrow would get to be the legal guardian of anybody is if Taiyang died before Yang turned eighteen. Being Ruby's guardian was not what Yang wanted. It would stress her out even more than Ruby did as her sister. It would make Yang responsible for everything that happened to the girl, and it freaked her out.

But Taiyang dying was the least of her worries at the moment; if Ruby died, he would go back to being who he was after Summer died. And Yang really didn't want that. Deep down, Yang supposed that might be one of her biggest reasons for caring so much about Ruby. Well, that was the original reason, but she soon came to realize that she cared about Ruby because, well, she only had one sister in her small family.

Yang wiped away the tears, making sure she could see while driving. Ruby would be fine. She always was. She always was. Only then did Yang notice that she was speeding and breaking many traffic laws to keep up with the ambulance. In fact, she was going so fast that her front wheel was just inches away from the rear bumper of the ambulance. She could see her father frowning at her from the window. He mouthed the words, "Slow down." Yang nodded and slowly applied the brakes, being sure not to flip her motorcycle.


End file.
